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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 3:54 pm 
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I have 3 good-sized (8-12" trunk dia) Bradford Pear trees, about 12 yrs old in excellen health on the west side of the house, about 10 ft from the foundation (post-tension slab). Their roots have grown under the grade beam of the foundation and have cause the house to settle in that location, with ceiling cracks, stuck doors, etc. I dug a trench 4 ft deep about half way between the trees and the house, cut the roots (several 2-3 in. in dia), and installed a root barrier. The soil moisture under the house has re-equilibrated and the foundation level and trees are fine after a full, hot summer.
Unfortunately, the roots on these trees are very agressive, and are re-growing through the root barrier (in between joints). I've heard that putting rock salt in a trench on the side of the root barrier opposite the trees will discourage root growth. I am concerned about killling the trees and contaminating the soil. I also intend on putting flagstone in the area over the root barrier, so there are no other plants in the area. Is there something else that might do better at discouraging root growth without harming the tree??


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 8:27 pm 
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Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:18 pm
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Location: McKinney,TEXAS
I used a roll of aluminum that is sold for valleys on roofs. You can get various lengths at the big box stores. It's 18' wide and that did the trick for me.
Tony M


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2003 7:42 am 
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Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2003 3:47 pm
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Thanks for the reply, but several of my roots are deeper than 18", that have gone to the house. The material I used was PVC car-port or porch roof type panels, overlapped 12", in the direction away from the base of each tree (I riveted them together). Some small feeder roots have found their way around/through the overlapped joints. So other than digging this out and installing more or a different type, which is a lot of work, I was wondering if there was a "root inhibitor", some type of mixture or solution, when applied to the soil, or under the surface of the soil, which would discourage the roots from going that direction. Would the salt work, if there are no active roots in the area yet, or is there too much risk of harm to the tree?


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